Today we’d like to introduce you to Kana Smith.
Hi Kana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When my husband & I got married, we knew we wanted to get out of the Boise area soon (when we were growing up in Idaho there weren’t a million people in the STATE—now there are nearly that many in the Boise valley!), so we bought a fifth wheel RV instead of a house. We moved into a Boise RV park, and (in addition to my job at the Home Depot service desk) I started working a couple days a week in the park office in exchange for rent. My husband had been working at the same mom-and-pop auto shop for 27 years—and in the summer he joined me working Maintenance in the park. Having the pair of us working (him outside, me inside) put us on the radar of the park-owners, as a couple who could “do it all,” between us. So when the Manager positions came open at another park they owned—Pendleton KOA—they reached out to us. I got a phone call asking if there were any chance we’d be interested in a job in Pendleton, Oregon… Nineteen days later we hitched our home to the truck and headed westward over the mountains!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our best joys and our hairiest challenges have been PEOPLE! Running an RV park with long-term guests as well as overnight visitors is like a combination of hotel-front-desk and tiny-town-mayor. All of our staff live onsite (as do we), which means we all pretty much live in each other’s pockets. There have been periods of time when that has been amazing—staff and their families sharing meals and kid-care and vacations—and other moments when there’s been some ridiculous moments of drama. We’ve had dramas with residents and dramas with overnight guests—but luckily there are far more LOVELY people than nasty ones. I remind myself of that, when I’m dealing with someone belligerent who’s negatively impacting the experience of other guests…
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Above the words “Park Manager,” my nametag says “SMILE SPECIALIST”! I’m known for keeping my own in place, and I’m pretty darn good at problem-solving until my guests are smiling too, if they didn’t begin our interaction that way. Though actually, one thing I’ll say about this job (compared, say, to my previous job at Home Depot’s service desk, where people arrived in front of me because they were already upset) is that most folks are happy to have arrived at their destination, and come at me smiling. I’m all for creative solutions, whether it’s tucking a little RV into a space that wasn’t intended as an RV site, or playing “musical chairs” with reservations to open something up, or loaning out something that’s needed (a power-plug adapter, a towel, a camping chair… even kitty litter once–though I didn’t ask for that one back)… Well, I tend to find a way to work things out. More importantly, I’m blessed with a great crew! Everyone who works here also LIVES here, which makes for a unique sense of ownership in our work, all of us. It’s not just a hospitality job from which you “go home”–it’s OUR neighborhood too!
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
When I’m not working… I’m a writer, a scuba diver, a sailboat skipper, a traveler…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kanasmith.com
